Posted on December 13, 2012 by Bill Skrapits
After the hustle & bustle of the holidays, the tasting room can seem a bit quiet. January and February are typically the slowest months of the year for a winery. The vineyard looks like a bunch of sticks. The days are short and cold. People are generally not out looking…
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Posted on January 8, 2013 by Bill Skrapits
3 Mistakes You Don’t Have to Make Starting Your Winery
I work with people who are interested in opening a winery and are doing their research. I also work with winery owners who have only been open a few years, as well as established wineries facing new challenges. After working…
Posted on February 5, 2013 by Bill Skrapits
Let Your Sales Forecast Be Your Guide
What is the difference between these two perspectives?
1. Winery owner produces a wine(s) and needs to sell it to fulfill the sales goal.
2. Winery owner has a sales goal and needs a wine(s) to fulfill that goal.
At first glance, you…
Posted on February 28, 2013 by Bill Skrapits
Colorado Wine, Winters and the West
I recently attended the third annual VinCO Conference, Colorado’s annual wine conference January 15-17. It’s held in Grand Junction, where the majority of Colorado’s grapes are grown. A massive cold snap hit during the conference stirring a few concerns about the vineyards among local conference…
Posted on March 20, 2013 by Bill Skrapits
When NOT to Blend
Recently I was working with a winery who had a wonderful 2012 harvest of Vermentino. My standard procedure for presenting wines to the winery owner is to make at least two different blends and use a sample of the single varietal wine for comparison.
I set…
Posted on May 6, 2013 by Bill Skrapits
Wineries and Breweries: Work Together To Change Laws
As in many states, the 3-Tier System in Texas has always been a nightmare.
It took wineries over a decade to persuade the legislature to allow for retail sales at their wineries. Finally, in 2001, after seeing the financial potential of the burgeoning…